The Hit And Run Restaurant "review" Thread

[ThaiBob]

3 hours ago, DrTuner said:

Did you happen to notice if they have craft beers on menu? So far Jim's Burger & Beers nearby has been the best place in Pattaya, to compete in quality (not location) they ought to have them.

Sorry not a beer drinker and didn't notice. It looks like they have a full bar and I suspect they do but I will let others confirm. I like Jim's but I thought the Arno's burger was better but you might feel differently. 

[KittenKong]

7 hours ago, Jingthing said:

But do you need to take some action on FB or Instagram to qualify?

It says that you have to follow them or like them or whatever the technical description is.

 

Rules me out as I have neither a Facebook nor an Instagram account.

[Jingthing]

It says that you have to follow them or like them or whatever the technical description is.
 
Rules me out as I have neither a Facebook nor an Instagram account.

Yes that's what it says. But based on the report here the free burgers are happening without doing anything.

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[balo]

I feel sorry for Hawker Chan , no customers inside so I wanted to cheer them up a little , tried the chicken with soya beans and sauce .

I have to say the chicken was very tender and much better taste than any chicken I've had from street stalls.  Only 59 baht this time. 

I'll be back soon. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Jingthing]

Terminal 21 Mall snippets

 

Well I'm looking forward to people posting information and impressions about the many new restaurants at the new mall.

 

After my exhausting first visit, here is what I've got so far.

 

First with what I actually ate --

Misoya Ramen
Hokkaido aburi chasu men
260 but half off discount this month. So 130. 

 

They have two ramen options on special offer this month. I would say definitely go to try them out especially the one I tried which is miso based. It was the best ramen I've ever had in Pattaya! But not the best I've had anywhere (including Bangkok). I think there may be better ramen places in the mall but this is the one I tried, attracted by the promotion. The broth was great, the noodles were toothsome, and the inclusions were great as well including some surprising roasted potato wedges. 

 

Will try the other places when the promotion stops.

 

Hong Kong Noodle

This appears to be mid level Chinese restaurant. Well priced and nothing to write home about.

But I felt like trying their dim sum which is on offer (I think always) at buy 3 Dim sum get one free.

 

Fried taro thing (this was very good, one of my favorite types of dim sum, it was better than the version at the dim sim place at A1 Hotel, Food Street)

Har gow shrimp, a bit below average

Steamed rice cake with chive, average

BBQ pork bun, average

 

----

 

Now to some snippet curiosities about places I haven't eaten at yet.

 

So Asean has half off on one featured dish a day during the opening promotion period.

 

Kitchen Lao, looks really good. Do they have another local location? I can't find anything about this place online. But their signage is all in Thai except Kitchen Lao so that's probably why. Looks like a chain. 

 

Futai Noodle House (Chinese), they might have hand pulled noodles there when they open. Was told they will open on Sunday. Can't find anything online about this place. But also looks like a chain.

 

Jiao Zi Guan (Chinese / Sechuan / Northern boiled dumplings)

This place interests me a lot. It's another location of an existing regular menu place on Naklua Road (which I haven't tried) This place is BUFFET only. For 288 you pick stuff from the buffet table, order all the boiled dumplings you want, take drinks, etc. I liked what I saw. However, some of the items might look "weird" to people that prefer westernized Chinese food.

 

Kinkao

This is a Thailand chain but what intrigued me a lot is that they have a robust SOUTHERN THAI specific menu. I will definitely be back for that. Where else are you gonna go for SOUTHERN THAI in Pattaya?

Pricing moderate. Range between 150 through 380 with most in the 200s.

 

--

Tried to find and failed!

I wanted to try cheese tea for the first time at Heekcaa. It's on the mall website as being on the San Francisco floor but the space number is on the Tokyo floor. So I wore myself out searching both floors and came up empty. I even found the number of where it was supposed to be on the Tokyo floor (maybe?) and it was something else. Oh well.  If you do find Heekcaa (if it exists which I now doubt) please post (with directions!) 

 

 

Edited October 23, 2018 by Jingthing

[TaaSaparot]

37 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Where else are you gonna go for SOUTHERN THAI in Pattaya?

 

You don't know the longstanding Pee Lek Pat Loong on 3rd Road ?

[Jingthing]

10 minutes ago, TaaSaparot said:

You don't know the longstanding Pee Lek Pat Loong on 3rd Road ?

Obviously I don't. Specific location please.
Look, let's make something clear. I don't claim to know it all about Pattaya area restaurants. I often post correct me if I'm wrong when I made statements.

Thanks for correcting me so now I want to try this place. I can't find it on google.

I'm here to LEARN stuff as much (or more) than sharing what I know.

Thanks. 

Edited October 23, 2018 by Jingthing

[balo]

Misoya Ramen sounds interesting , do they offer 50% on all dishes this month or only a fewv?

[Jingthing]

1 hour ago, balo said:

Misoya Ramen sounds interesting , do they offer 50% on all dishes this month or only a fewv?

Only two but it's not a big menu. I asked what is the difference between the two and they said the one I ordered had a miso base (the one I ordered) and the other was a simple soy base. Neither was among the lower cost options. It's a very good offer considering the quality.

[Jingthing]

Missed snippet

 

Chutney Indian

I was curious if this was a chain so I can report what the lady I spoke to there said. She told me yes it is a chain from Bangkok and that they also already have a Pattaya location on the top floor of Royal Garden. Did she mean in the food court or a standalone? Forgot to ask. I never go into the food court at Royal and haven't visited the top floor in a long time.  (BTW the very good standalone Indian vegetarian place at the top of Royal Garden, SARAS, also a chain from Bangkok, is moving to the FRONT of Royal Garden.)

 

http://saras.co.th/

 

Now about Chutney Indian, this is a HIGHER PRICED Indian restaurant though I was told 15 percent off is being offered for now. Example, Dal Tarka is 220 (a more typical local price is 120 to 150) and plain naan is 80 (typical local price 30 to 60). Whether they can justify their higher prices with exceptional quality is something I do not know though color me skeptical. 

Edited October 23, 2018 by Jingthing

[Jingthing]

So Asean

T21 Mall

 

So Asean was more than SO SO but less than WOW WOW. 

 

So Asean has a cool gimmick. Serve a few dishes from ALL the Asean nations (but more than a few from Thailand).

Especially in Pattaya, where food from most Asean nations is impossible to find, our local So Asean branch is very welcome. 

So Asean doesn't pretend to be serving totally "authentic" food. How could they really for all those nationalities? What it is doing are modern stylized versions of these typical dishes from all the Asean nations. The value add is the higher end presentation. The prices are moderate or a tad higher.

 

I went for the Tuesday promotion (till the end of this month) of 50 percent off Burmese tea leaf salad because I wanted to try that anyway as it's a dish I love and haven't had for years.

Their version features the aforementioned stylized presentation but the flavors were spot on and representative of what a Burmese tea leaf salad should taste like for the most part. What's my complaint? A funny one. Not enough tea leaves! Would order again, discount or not. 

 

Also went for the fish amok (Cambodian curried mousse dish) for about 240. This dish was more stylized than the tea leaf salad. It had fried fish pieces on top instead of steamed into the mousse. Rice was not included. The flavor was way too subtle for my taste (and experience with Amok). The portion was large. It was so bland that I requested some kind of side flavoring and on the third try they brought me some Indonesian chili sambal which helped quite a bit. I won't order their Amok again but don't regret giving it a try. If you don't like spicy food, you might like it more than I did.

 

Surprise, surprise. I was offered a totally free substantial dessert. It was a toast dish with meringue, whipped cream, and a side pudding thing. I would have never ordered that dish without it being free. Not worth the calories but worth the money. (Free.) Normally 240 on the menu. 

 

The restaurant was fairly busy, over half full, so you can imagine that would challenge a very new restaurant. Considering the staff did looked flustered, I think they did quite well. 

 

10 percent service charge added to the check. Extra tax not added.

 

I will definitely to be back to try a number of their other Asean dishes. I didn't really expect to be blown away by their food, but considering the lack of local alternatives for most of the nationalities represented there, it's more than good enough to deserve customers.

 

Bangkok information --

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g293916-d10235829-Reviews-SO_asean_Cafe_Restaurant-Bangkok.html

 

FB --

 

https://www.facebook.com/SOasean/

Edited October 23, 2018 by Jingthing

[balo]

1 hour ago, Jingthing said:

I will definitely to be back to try a number of their other Asean dishes

I just looked through the menu, they also have a Filipino dish , Adobo which is very rare to find in Thailand. I will ask my Filipino friends to check it out. 

 

[Jingthing]

43 minutes ago, balo said:

I just looked through the menu, they also have a Filipino dish , Adobo which is very rare to find in Thailand. I will ask my Filipino friends to check it out. 

 

Yes they do but based on the picture it's an unusual interpretation of the dish. I think there are one or two Pinoy restaurants in town but I don't know the current locations.

[ThaiBob]

8 hours ago, balo said:

I just looked through the menu, they also have a Filipino dish , Adobo which is very rare to find in Thailand. I will ask my Filipino friends to check it out. 

 

My friend and his Filopino friend ate there on opening day and gave it two thumbs up. 

[Jingthing]

Here's the final day skinny on the Arnos free burger bonanza at T21. Tomorrow is the last day. Be there or be payin'! No need to say a word or having a fb account. Just order. Theoretically it is limited to the first 300 of the day but not sure if they're enforcing that.

So I went for my free burger today and it was the best burger I've had in Thailand. The fries were just OK. Next time I'll try the curly fries. Ordered medium but it came medium rare which is what I wanted anyway. I don't like to order medium rare in Thailand as that's often read as rare or should I say red as rare.

 

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[DrTuner]

2 hours ago, Jingthing said:

So I went for my free burger today and it was the best burger I've had in Thailand.

Tried Jim's yet? https://www.facebook.com/jimsburgerpattaya/

 

I've had their M16 a few times, nice and spicy and the lava thing, which was also good. Their waffle fries are great. Everything I've eaten there has been good to great, especially when chased down by the craft beers that they have on tap, a changing menu of them. Brilliant place. Parking used to be real good right in front but I'm fairly sure T21 traffic screwed it up now.

[ThaiBob]

Another winner..... Italian Osteria at T21(floor 2, Tokyo). All three of us enjoyed our meals, moderately priced, inexpensive wine for a full service restaurant, 10% service charge added. Didn't try their pizza but it looked interesting so we'll be back. Outside there was a loud musician playing in the mall that detracted from the ambiance. Not a place for a quiet meal. 

Edited October 24, 2018 by ThaiBob

[lapd]

8 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Here's the final day skinny on the Arnos free burger bonanza at T21. Tomorrow is the last day. Be there or be payin'! No need to say a word or having a fb account. Just order. Theoretically it is limited to the first 300 of the day but not sure if they're enforcing that.

So I went for my free burger today and it was the best burger I've had in Thailand. The fries were just OK. Next time I'll try the curly fries. Ordered medium but it came medium rare which is what I wanted anyway. I don't like to order medium rare in Thailand as that's often read as rare or should I say red as rare.

 

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Friend of mine had it and said it was just ok.  He prefers Carls Jr.

 

They usually make it more rare than what you order so if it comes back they just have to cook it a bit more rather than throw it away.

Edited October 24, 2018 by lapd

[ThaiBob]

5 hours ago, lapd said:

Friend of mine had it and said it was just ok.  He prefers Carls Jr.

 

They usually make it more rare than what you order so if it comes back they just have to cook it a bit more rather than throw it away.

Carls Jr Superstar is my favorite fast food burger in Thailand and you can order it your way (extra mayo for me). Arno's is not fast food, a specialty burger, they have their own sauces, caramelized onions, etc. so it might not be for everybody but I thought it was excellent, delicious (slightly over cooked for my taste) and I'll probably become a regular.   They also have pricey steaks (Arno's is also a butchery) which I will try eventually. There is also a Carls at T21. 

[ThaiBob]

18 hours ago, DrTuner said:

Tried Jim's yet? https://www.facebook.com/jimsburgerpattaya/

 

I've had their M16 a few times, nice and spicy and the lava thing, which was also good. Their waffle fries are great. Everything I've eaten there has been good to great, especially when chased down by the craft beers that they have on tap, a changing menu of them. Brilliant place. Parking used to be real good right in front but I'm fairly sure T21 traffic screwed it up now.

In answer to your earlier question, it appears Arno's has draft and craft beers. You can also order their spicy sauce if you choose. Today's burger was cooked perfectly, medium rare. The curly fries were warm not hot, a little disappointing. Check bin was 38 baht (Coke), no serve charge added. 

[Jingthing]

I chose the blue cheese topping which I really love on a burger. It wasn't much cheese but it's a strong flavor so it worked. Their giveaway was a BRILLIANT idea because many will gladly be back to actually pay for their food not to mention the great PR of people saying how great their food is (it is). Well, their burgers anyway. I didn't think much of the fries but no biggie. 

 

Reminder -- TODAY is the last day for the free burger (first 300 burgers). 

Edited October 25, 2018 by Jingthing

[Jingthing]

I confirmed that Heekcaa cheese tea shown on the T21 mall website does not exist in the T21 mall. There is a big ass info desk when entering from 2nd road.

 

No cheese tea for me!

 

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[lapd]

On 10/24/2018 at 6:12 AM, DrTuner said:

Tried Jim's yet? https://www.facebook.com/jimsburgerpattaya/

 

I've had their M16 a few times, nice and spicy and the lava thing, which was also good. Their waffle fries are great. Everything I've eaten there has been good to great, especially when chased down by the craft beers that they have on tap, a changing menu of them. Brilliant place. Parking used to be real good right in front but I'm fairly sure T21 traffic screwed it up now.

My friend was not that impressed with Jims or Arno's.  Still prefers Carls Jr.  I think Carls, McD, Burger King is garbage food and never eat there myself.  I might give Arno's a try though.

[Jingthing]

On ‎10‎/‎23‎/‎2018 at 1:51 PM, Jingthing said:

Terminal 21 Mall snippets

,,,

 

Jiao Zi Guan (Chinese / Sechuan / Northern boiled dumplings)This place interests me a lot. It's another location of an existing regular menu place on Naklua Road (which I haven't tried) This place is BUFFET only. For 288 you pick stuff from the buffet table, order all the boiled dumplings you want, take drinks, etc. I liked what I saw. However, some of the items might look "weird" to people that prefer westernized Chinese food.
 

 

Major update on Jiao Zi Guan.

I did try the all you can eat buffet offer, now 300.

It's takes a little effort to understand how it works but there is a nice lady there that speaks enough English to explain.
First dumplings. You can choose either egg/chive or pork boiled Northeast Chinese style dumplings, choice of 6, 8, or 10 per order.

I went with the egg/chive and they were OK I suppose but really I'm more used to a thicker dough and more al dente in Northern Chinese boiled dumplings. They were served with more of a Thai style dipping sauce than usual, though this is still definitely a very Chinese restaurant.

If I had wanted an order of the pork ones as well, that would still have been included on the buffet. 

A few dishes on the buffet table were presented uncooked so if you want them they will finish the cooking in the kitchen. These were an oily fish dish (very bony fish) in an oily "mala" Sichauan sauce. Also a fatty pork belly in broth dish (meh). Small servings so tried them both. Liked the authentic flavor of the fish dish though there was very little fish meat (mostly bone). 

A nice HOT winter melon soup in chicken broth (great dish). 

Also on the buffet table were many room temperature dishes including sweet and sour fish filet, a very spicy fried Sichuan chicken w/ peanuts dish (not kung pao), beef slices, soy infused pork ribs, cold wide mung bean noodles with spicing (loved that), shrimp w/ shell, spicy green vegetable salad type dish and more including cuts of meat most westerners including me wouldn't like. There was also a "dessert bar" which was pretty sad including cheap ice cream, but there were some good fresh fruit choices. Drinks included -- only water and Coke. I forget to ask about tea so not sure about that. Even though I thought 300 baht was well worth it to try all that authentic variety, I can't really strongly recommend it largely because it's perhaps "too authentic" for most westerners and the bigger issue -- some dishes that should be hot (like the sweet and sour fish) being cold. The dumplings are probably a subjective thing but they weren't the style I'm used to. 

 

All that said, IF you DO want to give this unusual buffet a go, you better HURRY as it's only going to be happening for another week or two!

 

That's because the buffet is only going to be during their opening period as they prepare to offer their new menu. 

 

I imagine the style of the dishes will be similar to some of the buffet offerings (so definitely some Sichuan dishes) and also their specialty will be the dumplings. I was told later they will offer more than the two current choices. It's entirely possible once this place gets fully going, the dumplings might be different than what I had.

 

They already have adverts on the wall for some dumplings. 150 per order, not sure how many per order. 

Edited October 25, 2018 by Jingthing

[TaaSaparot]

17 hours ago, Jingthing said:

I confirmed that Heekcaa cheese tea shown on the T21 mall website does not exist in the T21 mall. There is a big ass info desk when entering from 2nd road.

 

No cheese tea for me!

 

No surprise there.

 

As I said it was last years fad.

[Jingthing]

8 minutes ago, TaaSaparot said:

No surprise there.

 

As I said it was last years fad.

You mean in Thailand? Because it seems to be at the beginning internationally. If it was such a fad in Thailand (as you say 7-11 had it as if that's a place people would normally go for higher end drinks) how is it that I never saw it at any other vendor in Pattaya? What I'm basically saying is that I don't find your assertion at all convincing.

https://www.cntraveler.com/story/cheese-tea-is-taking-over-china-and-invading-the-us

 

[DrTuner]

12 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Major update on Jiao Zi Guan.

I did try the all you can eat buffet offer, now 300.

It's takes a little effort to understand how it works but there is a nice lady there that speaks enough English to explain.

This is a gripe I have with Russian and Chinese joints. They tend to be less accessible for non-natives. An English menu and instructions on how to chow down shouldn't be too much to ask, but I suppose they want their own kind only. Contrast that to euro restaurants that near invariably have English on their menu. Thais having only Thai menu I can understand, it's their country.

[Jingthing]

11 minutes ago, DrTuner said:

This is a gripe I have with Russian and Chinese joints. They tend to be less accessible for non-natives. An English menu and instructions on how to chow down shouldn't be too much to ask, but I suppose they want their own kind only. Contrast that to euro restaurants that near invariably have English on their menu. Thais having only Thai menu I can understand, it's their country.

Well, yes and no. A gripe I would have if I was THAI is how most of the European food restaurants (and other types of non-Thai places as well) have no menu in THAI! It used to piss me off in the U.S. to see better food menus only in Chinese so I was reduced to pointing at dishes on other tables and saying give me that! Yes many Chinese restaurants here are hard or very hard to access. I find most of them are open to try to communicate if you show you're interested though. In fact they're often VERY friendly if it's clear you're really into their food (as I am). Also smartphone translation apps help. I did walk into a new shophouse Chinese restaurant the other day. No English on the menu or staff. I did study the menu for awhile with my phone but the staff there looked at me as if I didn't exist. I got the impression that their food probably isn't good enough to put up with that level of being dissed.

 

To add the place I reviewed at T21 is very welcoming.

 

Russian places are a different ballgame. (No comment. Wouldn't be prudent.)

Edited October 26, 2018 by Jingthing

[AlexCanada]

Yoshinoya Terminal 21

 

It was my girlfriend's choice again today.  I wanted to go to Marugame Udon but she asked about Yoshinoya next door.  I told her I had only tried it once in Jakarta and it was only ok.  She still wanted to go.  There were some specials but it's not what I wanted so ordered a full price item.  I got the Beef Bowl which came with a tiny but delicious salad, some extremely salty miso soup, and a green tea ice tea.  The beef bowl was ok but I prefer the gyudon at Sukiya at Central Marina more.  My girlfriend ordered the chicken teriyaki and she loved it.  I tried it and didn't like it.  Total bill for both of us was 410 baht.  

 

FYI, many seats available at Pier 21 and many restaurants completely empty.  Saw a Thai couple order what I believe is the Tomahawk Steak at Arno's and it looked mouthwatering.  My girlfriend isn't even a big beef eater and even she was drooling over it.  Arno's only semi busy now that the hamburger special is over.  

 

Saw a buffet called Washi International buffet or something like that.  It's a bit pricey at 799 baht for steak and seafood combo.  Cheaper optons available.  Anyone tried it?

[Jingthing]

Yes many of the new restaurants are not getting much business while others like the usual mall chains are doing well.
I've noticed that Indian Chutney place seems to be really struggling even with 15 percent discount. Teddy's Big Burgers doesn't seem to be drawing them in and that's a shame as being from Hawaii they have an interesting menu including Hawaiian Moco Loco.
That Lao Kitchen seems to be super popular. Does anyone have a web link about that place? I can't find one.

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